Living in another culture is quite likely the most humbling and learning experience I've had yet.  I've had to learn how to do most things over: like how to greet people hello and goodbye, how to turn on the oven, how to mail a letter, how the bus system works, how to use military time, etc.  I'm having to adjust to a different schedule, to go with the flow more, to learn to be late to everything and to expect everything to be late.  I'm working hard at learning to live without many of the conveniences I took for granted by in the States.  I'm learning to depend upon other people and to ask for help.  I'm getting used to people talking to me like I'm a child and explaining things to me multiple times.  And I've realized that a small child will always be able to speak and understand Spanish better than I ever will.

October 2006
Global Mission and why they sent me to Argentina
by Rachel Dexter
I would like to start by explaining a little about the ELCA's definition of Global Mission and why they sent me to Argentina.

While I am technically considered an ELCA missionary, the church has a new definition of what "missions" means.  The ELCA, along with many other churches, uses what is called an "Accompaniment" model.  Instead of going to other countries to "change" or "fix" them, we are asked to go and accompany them on their journey.  Instead of bringing Christ to them, we are asked to walk with them and discover how and where Christ is already moving.  The ELCA also feels that the job is not over when we return to the States, but that we have the responsibility of sharing what we learned with our communities back home, and in a sense to be missionaries in the States.  The ELCA also expects each of its missionaries to see the world in a new way, to have their eyes opened to poverty, injustice, and marginalization, to learn cross-cultural skills, and to grow in our faith.

I had a few people ask me why the Lutheran Church sends people to Argentina, and that is a good question.  On the surface, Argentina appears a very rich country, which it is.  The problem is the distribution of this wealth and the international debt.  There are staggering amounts of poverty, and the wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few.  Because of the international debt (and other problems), money that used to go to education, health care, and social services no longer does.  There is nothing like welfare or food stamps, so thousands die because of hunger even though this is a country that produces enough food to feed everyone.  The country is still recovering from the recent economic crash and from the human rights abuses of the 70’s and 80’s (30,000 people "disappeared" and 70,000 were tortured).

As for my role here, I have been placed in three part-time positions.  The first is out in the slums, in a shanty-town where people have no running water, no bathrooms, no electricity, and not enough food to eat.  I am working at a grassroots community center there which focuses on the children.  I am also working on a Gender Justice project through the Latin American Council of Churches.  I assist the Program Director for Gender and Women's rights.  Finally, I am also working one day a week at a Human Rights organization called Service, Peace, and Justice. 

I would like to thank St. Andrew Lutheran Church for the outpouring of support I received this summer.  Please continue to pray for me and for all the people with whom I work.